Trump takes aim at domestic programs such as Lake Erie clean-up in new budget

Monday

Mar 11, 2019 at 1:10 PM

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump today proposed sweeping cuts to non-military spending such as cleaning up the Great Lakes even as independent budget analysts project his plans will add at least $7.8 trillion to the publicly held debt during the next decade.

The $4.7 trillion budget is for the federal spending year starting in October claims to lead to a balanced budget within 15 years by calling on Congress to slash $2.7 trillion in non-defense spending during the next 10 years.

Although Trump wants Congress to approve an additional $8.6 billion to continue construction of a barrier along the Mexican border as well as $330 million for the Justice Department to combat the spread of opioids, the administration wants to cut the money for the Great Lakes Restoration Project from $300 million this year to just $30 million next year.

Though the proposal is simply as described — a proposal — it offers the best indication of what Trump will push for in the coming year. Many of the less-controversial items will likely end up in the appropriations bills passed by Congress. But in a year when Trump faces a Democratic-led House for the first time in his presidency, the controversial items will likely provoke bitter fights.

Last year, the administration ended all money for Great Lakes cleanup only to have a coalition of lawmakers from both parties restore the $300 million.

"The president's budget request, like all presidents' requests, is just that — a request — and really is an exercise in futility," said Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Upper Arlington. "Historically, Congress has crafted its own budget without using the president's blueprint, and I have no reason to believe that this year will be any different."

Non-military federal agencies would be tasked with reducing spending by 5 percent across the board. Trump's plan comes roughly a month after an impasse between Congress and the White House sharp enough to cause the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history.

Acting Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said the proposed cuts were spurred by soaring deficits, saying “we have a real problem that is not the result of our economic policies.”

He said the budget “will have more reductions in spending than any president in history has ever proposed in concert with our first two budgets,” dismissing the notion that Trump’s tax cuts had contributed to the deficits.

Trump also asked for $3.6 billion more in military construction dollars — dollars that would be used to pay back money he borrowed for the first installment of the border wall. Recent reports have shown otherwise.

In all, it would include $750 billion for defense, including funding for the largest pay increase in a decade for the military as well as the creation of the United States Space Force. While discretionary non-military spending was set for a 5 percent decrease, defense would see a 5 percent increase.

In addition to the $8.6 billion for the wall, Trump wants $506 million to hire more than 2,800 law enforcement officers and staff for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement.

Trump also proposed a $15 billion school choice initiative and $327 billion for welfare reform, including even more stringent work requirements, and said the proposal would make the Trump tax cuts permanent.

Critics charged that the budget assumes optimistic levels of economic growth to bring the debt under control.

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget in Washington, complained that “a fantasy assumption of sustained 3 percent economic growth makes a return appearance in the budget.”

“Every independent forecaster foresees growth to average closer to 2 percent over the next decade,” she said in a statement. “Assuming an extra point of growth serves no purpose but to mask the high deficits and debt likely to materialize under the president’s budget.”

jwehrman@dispatch.com

@jessicawehrman

jtorry@dispatch.com

@jacktorry1

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